


Ad Astra

by Arthemis_Huntress



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety, Different Points of View, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Game spoiler, Gen, Mostly Prompto Centered, Mutual Pining, Tags May Change, The astrals - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:01:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21645688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthemis_Huntress/pseuds/Arthemis_Huntress
Summary: While out in a hunt, Noct and his group find a peculiar person in the woods who does not seem to remember who she is or anything from her past at all. The four friends then decide to help but will find her role in their story is a rather important one.ORI get pissed off at the end of that wonderful game and I’ll be damned if I don’t write a better ending for my boys!!
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

The sun had set long ago and the only source of light were the small lanterns that hung from their chocobos saddles and what little light of the full moon above made through the canopy of the trees.

Prompto didn't even try to hide what was probably his 10th yawn in the last half hour. He had made a few suggestions disguised as jokes that they had been out for way too long for comfort. He only wished Noct realized it as well. After killing deadeye he though they should raise some Gill before their trip to Lestallum. 

The young prince had them going on hunts for the whole day and this was supposed to be the last one, the easiest and fastest to finish, but they were having some trouble finding where the stupid Hundlegs nest was.

They had ran out of money a while ago so Prompto could understand why they took all kinds of hunts, even the ones at night. Hell, just the thought of having a warm shower and a comfortable bed waiting for them as soon as they finished this almost makes him forget about the possibility of a Giant bubbling up from the ground.

“Are we there yet?” He whined once the silence was too much to bear. 

“Patience is a virtue, my friend.” Ignis answered promptly, lifting his hand to push his glasses further up his nose.

“So is empathy! My butt is killing me from all this riding.” Prompto tried to adjust himself in the saddle without upsetting his bird, “We’ve been in all sorts of hunts today. Have some love for your buddies, Noct.” He finished the woe with a dramatic sigh worthy of an Oscar.

“Stop being a baby.” Gladio joked as he slowed his chocobo to be side by side to Prompto.

“Yeah? Well you’re-“ he paused and tried to come up with a proper insult.

“Gentlemen, I believe we found our mark.” Ignis interrupted his train of thought and Gladio trotted away with a victorious smirk.

The shadow of the rocks the reward paper said was the ‘nest’ of the vicious animals cut through the trees to the open field. _Finally,_ the blond though, as he hurried his bird closer to the clearing. They were leaving the birds further from the fight in case one of the insects decided they looked too appetizing.

Right when Prompto was taking his other foot out of the saddle he heard a scream. The four men sprinted quickly in search of the distressed call. After getting a few steps closer he could see a huddled figure against the rock surrounded by seven huge centipedes, he heard the snap of their jaws and the clicking sounds they exchanged against each other and hurried his pace.

Noct was the first to attack, as he did most of the time, throwing his weapon in the air and warping in a flash of blue light, leaving only a silhouette of crystals and sparkling light behind, landing perfectly on his feet and swiping his Engine Blade to cut two of the insects in half. He felt the air catch at his throat at the sight of blood in the jaws of the creature writhing at his feet, snapping his head up he saw the person shrinking against the rock was a girl holding a small dagger in her bloody hand and a pool of red growing under her right thigh.

He didn’t have enough time to ask though, seeing that the attention of the creatures were entirely on him now. He jumped back before his leg could have been snapped off and finally heard the deafening sound of a gun firing nearby and heard a body fall behind him. 

“Prompto! Cover her.” He called the blonde’s attention and opened a way for him to get to them by jumping in front of one of the huge insects and making it chase after him.

“Hey, you alright?” He kneeled next to the girl but she only blinked and stared at him, stunned into silence, her eyes were glowing in the moonlight. He brought his hand up when he felt something wet and sticky, it came back covered in dark red blood.

“Look out!” The shrill voice squealed and he turned fast, pulling the trigger and killing the last of the creatures in a second.

They all stood in silence for a moment, eyes checking for any movement, but all the Hundlegs were dead. Prompto turned to the girl again and heard his friend’s steps getting closer hurriedly. She was very pale, her breathing was shallow and she slowly closed her eyes, letting her body become weightless against the rock.

“Oh no, stay awake!” Prompto shook her shoulder with panic but she had already passed out.

“Move.” He scrambled away at Ignis’s request, hovering while the advisor knelt next to the unconscious girl. 

His eyes scanned the wound and hurriedly pulled an elixir out of the Armiger. One of the creature's mandible had snapped off in the girl‘s tight and blood kept spilling out of the wound in a steady stream. 

“I need to remove it,” Ignis stated to the other three behind him and looked over his shoulder to add, “This will hurt. Please, hold her down.” 

The other three moved fast, Gladio helped Ignis straighten her down in the ground and held onto her shoulders. Prompto took her knife away from her slacked hold, thinking it wouldn’t be very good if she panicked and tried to stab anyone, then took ahold of her pulses while Noct went for her legs.

Ignis gave them one last nod before closing his hands in the mandible and pulling. The girl woke up with the sudden pain and tried to jolt up letting out an agonizing scream. She panicked and struggled under their hands, trying to push them away in vain. 

Prompto had to look away after the constant image of blood, her cries were agonizing against his ears. 

His eyes met her and it was almost as bad as seeing the bloody leg. Her eyes were begging for the pain to stop, for them to let her go, she didn’t understand why they were putting her through this. He did his best to express his sympathy with a sad look, but she closed her eyes after Ignis’s hand moved to get a better grip.

“I’m sorry, it’s almost out. Just a little further now.” Ignis whispered reassuringly under his breath but Prompto doubted the girl heard any of it. 

With the third and last pull the mandible came free of the poor girl’s tight and she sighed with relief, her body sagged against the ground and Ignis quickly broke the bottle over her open injury.

Her breaths were coming in short breaks and her body rocked with each hiccup, she curled up on her left side as soon as they let go to hug her leg and pull it close to her body.

“My apologies. It needed to be taken out before I could close the wound.” Ignis threw the piece of mandible far away and took another look at the now closing gap.

“You okay, kid?” Gladio’s hand landed on her shoulder in a much gentler touch, startling the girl and finally making her turn to actually look at them.

She weakly nodded and after another few seconds of staring finally made a move to sit up straighter and gathered the courage to look down her bloodied leg, gasping and resting her hand on top of a pink scar that was left behind by the fast healing Elixir. 

She had a look of utter surprise at what Ignis had just done, like she had never seen any curatives of any kind be used. She blinked at them, measuring each of the men around her with caution. 

Prompto took a moment to actually look at her now as well, and let’s say she didn’t look like she had been doing very well besides the insect problem. Her long white hair was disheveled and stray leaves and twigs littered between knots, she seemed to also be sustaining different cuts and bruises around her body the Elixir didn’t have enough time to work on yet.

She looked like she had been out here for a while. 

They all stayed like that for a few seconds before a howl finally broke the silence and made them all perk up in alarm.

“We have to go.” Gladio stood up, making the others move up as well. Except for the girl who still made no move or emitted any sound.

Prompto stepped closer and offered her his hand.

“Do you need help getting up?” He asked. She blinked at the open palm before finally reaching out.

“And hey, thanks for the heads up! I’m pretty sure that Hundleg would’ve gotten me if it weren’t for you.” He scratched his head a little embarrassed. She slowly eased up, finally deciding they didn’t have any ill intentions.

“Here.” He handed her the dagger back, which she took back reluctantly. She didn’t hold it like it was her own, she held it as if it was dangerous and as if she was scared of it. 

“I…” She said in a small voice and hesitated before turning to Ignis, “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” He answered with an easy smile.

She turned to Prompto once more, he could finally see the tension leaving her shoulders and she thanked him as well.

"No problem. I’m Prompto, by the way. That’s Ignis, Gladio and Noctis" He gestured towards the other as he introduced them. “What’s your name?” 

She pressed her lips in a thin line and looked down, crossing her arms over her torso and hunching her shoulders down in a clearly defensive pose. Prompto decided not to say ask anything else.

“What were you doing out here?” Noct buried his hand in his pocket in search of his Chocobo calling whistle to call the birds over, ignoring the quiet stance she was trying to take.

“I’m... lost.” She answered with a thin and raspy whisper, still refusing to meet their eyes again. 

“We can take you back home.” Prompto offered a hopeful smile, “Where is that?” 

"I... I can't remember." She finally admitted in a small voice, the cautious façade finally falling to be replaced by vulnerability.

Prompto felt his heart clench. Couldn’t remember? No wonder she looked like she had been out in the forest for a while, had she been all alone in the woods? For how long?

For the first time in a while Prompto was out of words. He tried to think of a way to lighten the situation, to distract her of the fact she didn't even know who she was but coming up with nothing. He rested a hand on her shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze and smiling reassuringly when she looked at him. 

“Well, let’s get the hell out of here before we run into more trouble.” Gladio finally broke the silence.

Noct had finally called the birds and they wobbled next to their riders, the young woman recoiled and hid behind Prompto with a fearful expression.

“Oh, it’s alright.” he looked over his shoulder with a smile before calling his bird closer with some of the green leaves it liked so much, “They’re harmless, see?” 

She seemed to be more at ease when she saw the colorful bird peck carefully at his hand and nuzzling him once she was finished.

“Here, you can pet her.” He rested his hand next to the bird's neck and she approached slowly.

She offered her hand and the bird promptly pressed its head in her palm, moving its head side to side to let her know where it wanted to be scratched. 

"Alright let’s go," Noct hauled himself to the bird’s saddle, "You should ride with Prompto he's the lightest." He laughed at the blonde's huff of frustration.

She just looked at the bird and back at them again, she didn't seem to know what Noct meant by that. Prompto pulled himself up the saddle in an attempt to show her what to do, but she only approached the bird and looked at the harness with uncertainty.

"Hang on," Gladio approached the girl and held her by the waist before raising her up like she weighed nothing and settling her behind Prompto, her bare feet dangling on the chocobo left side.

Once she was secured and holding onto Prompto's waist they trotted slowly towards the road where the light posts would keep the daemons away. Prompto didn't want to strain his bird too much since there was another person riding with him so the other three rode a bit ahead.

"Thank you... for helping me." She said with a voice that was still filled with caution.

"Don't mention it. I'm just glad we found you when we did." He said genuinely hoping to put her more at ease. He didn't even want to think of what could've happened to her had they not arrived when they did and silently thanked Noct for not giving up the hunt and returning to the hotel when he suggested. 

"Why are you? Helping me, I mean." Prompto felt her arms stiffen and he took a while to respond, too stricken by the question.

"Why? W-We couldn't just leave you there." He wasn't sure if there was anything else to say.

They saved her because that's what a decent person would do, he then wondered how long she had been lost in the wilderness and what she went through to have to ask why they would even bother saving her from certain death.

She only hummed in response but the tension seemed to loosen up a bit more. Honestly he was just glad she was starting to open up and actually ask questions, they would need to try and find out more about her if they were to take her to the place she belonged. He was too lost in his thoughts to notice the faint glow coming from behind him, but it faded as fast as it came.

His attention was now on his bird who was trotting faster after seeing the light coming from the station up front, seeing the promise of rest and food made the chocobo jolt and ruffle its feathers excitedly.

He heard a faint squeal from behind and tried not to laugh when he felt her grip tighten around his waist as the bird advanced even faster. 

His friends were already dismounting their own birds when Prompto finally caught up.


	2. Chapter 2

"Man, I'm exhausted," Noct was stretching his stiffened arms over his head and his chocobo ran along the other two to the fenced area where they would sleep. Prompto waited until Gladio came over to help the young woman dismount before getting off himself.

"I’ll talk to Wizz and see if he would let me borrow his kitchen.” Ignis pulled the hunt request papers from his back pocket and handed them to Gladio. "Can you collect the reward, please?"

"On it." Gladio made his way towards the store and Ignis turned his attention to the remaining three.

"You all can go in. We'll be there in a bit." They nodded and turned to the camper.

The four of them had stayed there the night before, so their things were still in the same place when they went hunting. Prompto pushed a few of his things aside with his boot internally cursing himself for being a slob. At least he wasn’t worse than Noctis, his clothes were spread all over the floor, one should think that by being a prince and living around Ignis all those years would’ve created a sense of tidiness in him.

Though he did remember how messy his apartment was when they hung out there after school. Compared to that this was as clean as a four star hotel.

"Wanna be first in the shower?" Noct turned to their new companion and gestured towards the bathroom door, she looked at him then again at the door.

"Shower?" She looked as if she was trying to remember something, her lips becoming a thin line with concentration.

The two just stared at her for a second, trying to hide their perplexed and confused expressions the best they could. How could she possibly not know what a shower was? She looked old enough to be their age yet she didn't seem to have even the basic concept of a potion or a bathroom? Prompto remembered reading somewhere that even if people have amnesia it doesn’t affect the memories of language or basic knowledge, so how can she not know?

Now Prompto was really starting to worry about what this girl had gone through and where she came from. Her expression turned to embarrassment when she couldn't get to a conclusion and looked at Prompto looking for the answer.

"I can show you how it works if you want." He shrugged and tried to act more casually. She nodded and followed him inside.

"I'll be outside, it’s too cramped in here." Noct said before jumping out and landing in firm ground, going to sit down in the plastic table outside.

“Alright. Come on.” Prompto signaled the girl to follow and turned the bathroom light on.

Stepping inside the boxer he started explaining how the water came out of the shower head and how she could change the temperature by turning the nozzle all the way around, then pointed to the cabinet she could get a new towel.

“So this thing is shampoo, you use it in your hair then add stuff from this other bottle to wash your hair. Oh, remember to rinse before using each then you just gotta- are you okay?” He stopped rambling and took a step back towards her.

The girl seemed distracted by the mirror on top of the sink, turning her head one way then the other with a curious expression.  
“Is this… me?” She asked while resting a hand in the glass.

Prompto tried to keep his expression mostly impassive but could see from his own reflection that he was doing a terrible job, he didn’t want to concern the poor girl but damn if this wasn’t deserving of the feeling.

“Uh- yeah! Yup, that’s you right there!” He said in a somewhat higher voice than he intended and her gaze finally wondered back to him.

“I’m sorry. You were saying something important.” She turned back to him with a forced smile. Oh how he knew that smile, he had worn it many times when he had to pretend that everything was fine as not to worry any of the others.

He wondered if Noct ever felt the same way he was feeling right now whenever Prompto did this himself, if Noct had to ever feel this heaviness. It wasn’t a very pleasant feeling.

Prompto shook his head.

"You don't need to be sorry. It must be overwhelming and honestly I think I would loose my shit if this happened to me..." She giggled with his word choice, after a pause he continued in a more serious tone, "You have every right to be scared or confused."

He noted how her smile became more genuine with his words and he felt his heavy heart become a tad lighter.

"Thank you, Prompto. So what's shampoo again?"

Once he finished explaining what each bottle contained and what to do she gave a nod of understanding and he walked off the door, telling her he would be waiting outside with the others.

He closed the door and let his back rest on it for a few seconds trying to take it all in. He couldn’t help but put himself in her shoes. How scared he would be if he couldn’t remember his name, his friends, or even his face.

Once he heard the shower turn on he pushed himself off the door and walked outside to join Noct, taking the plastic chair next to him and throwing himself in it with a sigh. Man, he was tired.

“She can’t even remember her own face?” Noct wondered to himself outloud, but Prompto decided to nod silently anyway. They stayed quiet and waited for their older friends to join them.

”We really need a plan of action.” Gladio came marching from under the trees and pulled a chair for himself.

“No kidding.” Noct crossed his arms and closed his eyes, he could feel a headache coming. They were starting to get worse with each day.

”Do you think she’s a refugee?” Prompto asked Noct, thinking that if they started comparing ideas maybe they could get closer to a conclusion.

”Of Insomnia? It’s been a week since it happened.” Noct shook his head. It wouldn’t make sense, “even if she was from Lucis anyone who made it out had a least a bit of combat skills to fight off a few monsters, or someone who could with them at least.”

“She doesn’t look Lucian either.” Their heads turned towards their last companion who had approached silently, holding a tray with a sandwich for each of them.

Prompto looked away and said nothing. He was waiting for somebody to make a comment about her appearance, the white hair and fair skin weren’t very subtle.

”Unless she was traveling with someone I highly doubt she could have survived more than a couple days in the wild.” Gladio added the thought. They remembered the cuts and bruises on her arm, a few of them did look like they were recent.

"She wasn't carrying any supplies. She might’ve been running away from something, or someone." Ignis replied with a beat.

They fell silence when the water from the shower stopped running and after a moment they heard the thumps of her feet against the camper floor. She emerged from inside and stood in the front door, wearing the same clothes and shaking her hair dry with a towel. She seemed to be emitting a faint glow, it looked like a yellowish aura around her.

"Woah!" Prompto jumped out of his chair and stared incredulously at the girl.

"What?" Her smile faded with alarm and the light became fainter.

"You're glowing!" He gestured towards her exasperatedly.

She finally looked down at her hands and yelped with surprise, the light immediately faded and she was left to look confusingly at the rest of the group. She felt a twinge of pain in her head and pressed one hand next to her temple, suddenly feeling a bit dizzy.

Being the closest Prompto hurriedly placed her hand on her elbow and helped her sit on the steps leading out of the camper. She turned her hands over and over and looked at them with a fixed stare.

"What was that?" Promto asked, and backing away as she hugged herself and stared at the ground with a broken expression, mushing her brain to think up with any solution but coming up with nothing.

"I- I don’t… I- Oh Gods… Oh, why can’t I just remember?” She mumbled with a shaken whisper and her breathing became irregular.

"Hey, it's okay." Prompto moved to kneel down in front of her, trying to meet her eyes. He could see she was going down in a spiral and if he didn't pull her out she would end up having a panic attack.

"How can this be okay? It's not... I can't..." Her body started to tremble and her eyes darted around as if she was looking for invisible answers in the grass, she dug her nails in her arm.

"Look, what matters is that you are safe now." He kept his tone even, resting his hand on her shoulder hoping the touch would ground her to something. "We'll help you figure out the rest, right guys?" he turned to his friends in search of help.

"Absolutely.", "Yeah!", "Sure, kid." His three companions answered almost in unison.

“See? You’ll be okay. We’ll find a way to help you.” She raised her head and looked at each one in surprise. "For now, you just need to breathe. You'll be okay." She looked back at Prompto’s determined eyes and nodded, taking deeper breaths and blinking some tears away.

"Okay." She said once she fully calmed down. "Thank you, Prompto."

Her voice was as sweet as honey and Prompto felt warmth bloom inside his stomach. She rested a hand on top of his and it felt like jolts of electricity went up his arm.

"Y-You're welcome!" He scrambled to his feet ungracefully and scratched the back of his neck which was flaring with heat.

She giggled at his antics, making his heart skip a beat. He cursed himself for acting in such an embarrassing way, but he couldn’t help himself, girls always made him feel like a goof. Well, at least it made her feel better.

"Now that that's settled," Ignis offered her his hand and guided to a plastic chair. "We should eat and get some rest."

Noct looked like he was ready to lie dead anywhere but decided to take a shower, the day had been a long one and not even he would be able to sleep with all the sweat and dirt all over him. The others reached for a sandwich and Ignis was pouring orange juice in plastic cups when he noticed their new companion was just staring with uncertainty.

"There we are," He held one of the sandwiches in her direction, looking at her expectantly. “Wouldn’t want you passing out on us."

She examined the food in his hand curiously before reluctantly accepting the triangle shaped bread and taking a testing bite. A smile spread her features once she started to chew and she took a fuller bite. 

“I apologize I didn’t have time to make something more appetizing.” Ignis looked at her apologetically, but she shook her head.

“It’s delicious! Thank you, Ignis.” She turned to him with a shy smile. Ignis couldn’t help but notice how she had used his name, happy by the fact she seemed to be more relaxed around them even if she still seemed distraught.

"Do you have a name you want to go by?" He asked once they were all done, thinking it would be best to keep her mind occupied. She thought for a moment before slowly shaking her head when she couldn't come up with one.

"Can't just be calling you 'kid' all the time." Gladio chugged the rest of the juice in the cup and gathered the plates and cups that were left on the table.

"How about Glimmer?" Prompto suggested with an jokingly tone, his companions rolled their eyes and the woman shook her head with a sour expression.

"That sounds like a stripper's name." Gladio added before getting up and taking Wiz’s stuff back to his kitchen.

"I'm kidding!" The blond held up his hands with a laugh, half shrugging and hummed in thought, "Then, how about Clara?" He turned to her with a more serious expression.

"Not very creative today, huh Prompto?" Notcis, who had been listening after he left the shower, commented from the bedroom.

"No." Their heads turned to the girl who had spoken so suddenly, "I like it."

There was that smile again, melting Prompto's insides like butter and leaving a warm feeling inside.

"Alright, then." Ignis says in a casual tone, "Would you like a clean set of clothes, Clara?"

It took her a moment to realize he was speaking to her, she eyed the dirt and the torn sleeves of her long dress and timidly shook her head. "Yes, please."

"Could you get Gladio’s largest shirt?” Ignis asked Prompto, who made a move to get up.

"Also, do you have a clean pair of boxers?" Ignis added. Prompto froze half way up.

He thought the best option would be to give her shorts but none of them packed any that might fit and Prompto was the thinnest out of the group. His tone was even and business-like but he could see the sudden question made his friend blush a bit and he looked away with embarrassment before nodding and squeezing past Clara to search for one in his bag. Ignis tried to hide the small smile at the blonde's actions, he always seemed to get timid around women.

"Clara you can have the bottom bunk, I believe Gladio will be fine in the couch." She followed after Ignis, reaching the small room in the back of the camper where two bunk beds stood against each wall. Noct seemed to have already passed out in one of the beds.

Once Prompto handed her the new change of clothes she disappeared inside the bathroom again.

By the time she came out Gladio had already settled in the couch and she tiptoed back to the room, almost swimming in Gladio’s t-shirt, which reached the middle of her tights. She pulled the covers and eyed the bed, sliding her palm on top of the sheets before slowly sitting down at the edge.

"I call dibs on the shower!" Prompto ran inside the bathroom without a beat.

"I'll take care of these if you want." Ignis gestured towards the dress Clara held on her hands and she happily handed it to him, "Good night, Clara."

"Thank you, Ignis," she looked at him one more time before settling herself under the covers, thinking about all the things that happened in that day and what that light was. She eyed her right hand, closing it in a fist and opening again, wondering why it had never happened before and how she did it.

With a defeated sigh she closed her eyes and tried to relax. By the time Prompto came back into the room she was already asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love to sleep in breezy clothes and I'm not sure if its common for other people to use boxers as pajamas shorts, but it is for me (u.u)


	3. Chapter 3

Prompto woke up to the smell of something cooking. From the sizzling noises and the aroma he figured Ignis was making them fried eggs and bacon. He climbed down his bed slowly as to not wake Noct who was still dead to the world and snoring lightly.

He stretched up and felt some of his bones give a satisfying crack before noticing the faintest glint of light in the room, he looked to the side and sure enough the yellofwish glow was coming from the bed Clara slept in.

The curtains were drawn so the room was swallowed by comfortable darkness except for the gentle light emanating from her, she wore a peaceful expression while she slept and had taken the pillow from under her head to hug during the night.

Prompto couldn't help but tiptoe towards his bag and dig around for his camera. He changed the settings of his camera to darker ambient before snapping a couple of shots. He hoped she wouldn’t be angry at him for taking pictures of her while she was asleep, but she looked so pretty glowing in the dark like that he couldn’t help himself. He turned towards his bag again to put the camera away before spotting a tube of toothpaste at the top of his clothes, he looked back at Noct’s sleeping face and a thought popped in his mind. He took a picture when he finished his art piece and left the room with a devilish grin.

"Morning, guys!" He greeted his friends cheerfully, happy to have had a full night's sleep in a comfortable bed two days in a row. Gladio and Ignis were talking in hushed tones outside.

"Good morning, Prompto. Breakfast?"

Ignis replied and gestured towards a big covered plate that Prompto found out was served with three big omelets.

"We were just discussing about what to do today."

"Oh?" The blond looked at the two men, waiting for one to elaborate.

"About Clara," Gladio added turning the blonde’s attention towards the bulkier man, "Iggy and I were just thinking where we could drop her off. Somewhere she could get help."

"Oh…" Prompto replied with a disappointed tone, his good mood quickly evaporating.

He knew she wouldn't be able to come with them, it wasn't safe for a civilian to travel with people that had to fight daemons, beasts and go against the Empire in a daily basis. Even so, thinking about leaving her somewhere felt like they would just ditch her to be someone else's problem.

"What about Lestallum? Iris is there, right?" Prompto asked, thinking that it may be better to leave her closer to town, maybe being around people would jog her memory. Plus it was where they were going too.

"We considered it, but we do not know what awaits us there," Ignis sighed, pausing to raise a can of Ebony to his lips before adding, "And what might happen on the way to the city."

Prompto understood that as well. Noct had to get to the Titan as fast as they could, his headaches were getting more frequent and more intense as the days went by. They couldn't afford to waste much time to consider what to do next. Still, there were four of them, he was sure that she wouldn't be in danger if she stayed in the car whenever they had to bring out the big guns.

"I think we could at least let her decide." He shrugged, the truth is, she might not even want to travel with them so might as well wait for her to choose and try to help anyway they could.

"Fair enough" Ignis agreed with a smile and turned back to the camper’s door, "Good morning, Clara" he waved her over and set another plate in the table.

She showed no signs of hearing their conversation as she scratched the sleep away from her eyes and let out a yawn, definitely not a morning person.

"It's official, Noct is the laziest person in all of Eos" Gladio joked while getting up and passing Clara on the way to the room, probably to wake the prince.

"Is omelet to your liking, Clara?" Ignis asked, already placing one in a plate and setting it in the table.

"Hm... I think so?" She smiled timidly, her hair was a complete mess of tangles and there were sheet marks where her face laid on the mattress.

“Oh, here.” He turned to a paper bag and handed it to her, “These are some clothes from the convenience store. I hope they fit you well.”

She blinked and her eyes settled in the bag, taking it with her two hands like it was something fragile. A big smile formed in her face and a gentle light pulsed off her.

“Thank you. I- I don’t know what to say.” She hugged the bag next to her chest, taking a quick peek inside

“You’re welcome.” Ignis smiled back, looking at the strange glow around her with inquiring eyes but withheld any comment. It faded away after a few seconds.

"Alright princess, time to get up-" Gladio voice came from the other room and halted to be replaced by an ungraceful snort.

"What?" They could hear the confusion in the hoarse voice of the prince waking up to such a reaction, Prompto was already breaking out in a fit of giggles.

Gladio walked out of the camper shaking his head with a smile on his face, followed by Noct.

"Why, don't you look cute today your Meowjesty." Prompto gave him an exaggerated reverence.

Noct turned towards the window of the camper and his eyes widened when he saw his reflection, the toothpaste whiskers and cat nose still plain to see in his face.

"Prompto!" The prince smudged some of the paste off and took off after his friend, running behind the blond when he scrambled off his chair and jumped over a small stone wall in an attempt to get away. Noct summoned his smallest dagger from the armiger and threw it after his friend with a grin.

“Hey, that’s cheating!” Prompto yelled over his shoulder, skidding to a stop and changing directions with cat-like reflexes.

"They act like such children sometimes" Ignis muttered under his breath but Clara saw he was also smiling fondly.

They truly are an interesting group, she thought as she enjoyed a forkful of eggs and giggled when Noct finally managed to get Prompto in an arm lock and spread the paste all over his face.

***

"Lestallum?" Clara asked after Ignis had presented the idea of trying to find a better place for her to stay, one where she would be safe and able to find help for her memory loss problem.

"It's a city not far from here. We want to help you as much as we can, but we are also on schedule for something and I'm afraid we cannot take you with us."

He carefully picked his words while explaining, the young woman had already been through enough and the last thing he wanted was for her to think she was being a burden.

Clara nodded and stayed silent. Last night had been more help than she ever expected to receive from strangers and she had been half expecting the four to go on their way and leave her. She had been roaming the wilds for a couple of days and nothing there showed her a lot of mercy so the idea of staying alone didn’t sound very appealing to her at all.

"That is, if you want to come with us. I can understand that traveling with four strangers can be frightening, but I promise we only have the best interest in mind." He added, the idea of leaving her alone did not sit well in his stomach but he couldn't do anything if she didn't want to come.

"No! No, that's not it at all!" She interrupted in a hasty tone, stumbling the words as if she couldn't say them fast enough, "I'm so grateful for what you have done already. If it's really alright then I would like to go with you. I don't think there is anything for me to find here. I promise I won't get in the way!” She bit her lip to prevent herself from rambling, and felt her heart beat fast in her chest.

This was finally the chance to find out more about herself she was waiting for, and these four were being kind enough to offer this chance, she would not mess it up.

"To Lestallum it is." Noct said as he got up from his seat. A wave of relief washed over the white haired woman.

"Welcome aboard, kid." Gladio added, ruffling her hair a bit.

Gladio couldn’t deny the uneasy feeling of having a complete stranger around, specially with everything that happened and the fact that the Empire was after them now. He couldn’t let his guard down and had even woken up in the middle of the night to keep watch in case Clara wasn’t who she said she was. Gladio found Ignis shared his concern as well when he opened his eyes to find the adviser sitting in a plastic chair in the doorway, keeping an attentive eye at the sleeping young woman. Eventually Ignis yielded the position to Gladio and got a few hours of shut eye, else he would’ve been awake until now.

When morning came they both decided it would be best to take her somewhere safe enough for her to stay in case she was telling the truth but not let their guard down while she was in their company. The sooner they parted ways, the better.

***

Clara was running her fingers along the long strands of her hair nervously, letting her mind zone out while staring at the tall tress. The idea of going somewhere new made her anxious. She had been surviving out there for what seemed like her whole life, which, from what she could recall, has. Even if leaving it behind meant she had a chance to remember who she was the forest had become familiar to her.

"Ready?" Prompto tapped her shoulder bringing her back to reality. She nodded and they walked over to the car.

Gladio had decided to go in the front seat since it would leave more space to the added passenger. Clara stopped and looked the car over with hesitation.

She had seen cars before, the first few had made her quite frightened with its loud engines and speed, but she had never actually been inside one. She scotched over and sat in the middle of the long seat in the back, running her eyes all over the small details of the leather seats and whatever else was inside.

"So, are you guys from around here?" She asked once the vehicle started to pick up speed and the silence had stretched on for too long.

The four stayed quiet, not sure of what to say and what was safe to share. Clara picked at a loose thread of her new shirt nervously, realizing she asked something personal and tried to think of something else to say in order to fix it but came up with nothing.

"N-nah, we're from an city called Insomnia." Prompto decided to answer, sensing the atmosphere in the car had gotten too heavy.

Once she cast a questioning glace towards him he decided to explain it better, since she was traveling with them it seemed fair for her to know who they were. He told her about what happened in Insomnia, adding a white lie that the four were traveling when it happened, leaving out Noctis’s royal lineage and their plans to reach Altissia in order to meet with Lady Lunafreya.

"I... I had no idea." She looked down with shame for making them recall such a horrible event. "I'm sorry."

She wasn't so different from them after all, maybe that was why they were helping her. She had lost everything too but at least there was still hope of finding her home, or at least that was what she was trying to convince herself. Maybe her home was forever lost to her too, maybe she might have been from Insomnia and couldn't even remember, maybe she never even had a home in the first place.

The thoughts pounded in her mind and she swallowed around the lump that had formed in the throat and tried to keep the hopelessness at bay, the four men had already done enough, she didn't need to bother them with her stupid scenarios.

"We'll get it back." Noct said in a low voice, finally breaking his silence, "They'll pay for what they've done" He finished with a determined face and looked away to the window.

"That's the spirit, Noct." Ignis answered with what Clara could see was a proud tone. And with that the heavy atmosphere slowly lifted lifted away. She knew the hurt was still there and the four friends would rather keep their feelings to themselves in order not to burden one another. They were good people who seemed to care deeply about each other, which was all she needed to know, so she wouldn't be a burden either.

The trees passed in a blur outside the windows of the car and Prompto was humming to the sound of the music playing on the radio when a deafening sound filled the air. Ignis looked at the rear view mirror but didn't need to see the aircraft to know an Imperial ship was in their tow. Soon enough a huge shadow passed overhead and hovered further in the road, letting a small army jump out.

"Crap." Gladio cursed lowly, they hadn't been too lucky since the beginning of the trip and he really didn't feel like fighting a bunch of MT's first thing in the morning. Ignis pulled the car over in what he reckoned would be a safe distance and the four opened their doors to jump out for the confrontation.

"Clara, stay in the car." Prompto advised her before turning and closing the door, gun already in hand.

She got up to look at the four men over windshield. They summoned their respective weapons and the soldiers in front of them broke into a run. Sword clashed against sword and shots rang in the air. She heard the weapons clinking when metal found metal and her heart started to beat faster when she saw her new companions in the middle of such a dangerous situation.

It all looked like a dance somehow. They were so in sync that they didn't stumble over one another even if they got closer, their bodies just moved like water flowing with the rhythm of battle.

 _They did this many times before_ , she though. They kept jumping in and ramming their weapons once they got in range of the enemies and jumping away whenever one got too close. Still, she couldn't deny the dread every time one of the weird soldiers got close enough to any of the four.

Clara watched as one by one the armored soldiers fell under the weapons. She felt a sudden urge to join them as well and, before she realized, stepped out of the car with a fiery feeling rising in her chest. Another one down. She gasped when she saw Ignis stab one in the stomach but noticed no blood poured from the wound, instead a dark miasma evaporated in the air.

Her chest tightened with anger and an intent to kill that she had never felt before, she took another step forward. It took her a moment to understand that the feeling was not coming from her.

It was the soldiers. Somehow all that anger and blood lust was reflecting on her and she knew it was coming from them. She never though another person would be able to feel this way, but there was something else too, she couldn't quite place a finger on it but there was suffering and agony in the middle of the hurricane of red that clouded her vision.

Sweat ran down her neck with the intensity of the desert heat, her ears started to ring and she couldn’t breathe. She didn't understand but the hate and sorrow were mixing together in constant conflict, as if they were trapped underneath the armor. She needed to do something, they were suffering.

She snapped out of her daze once she heard a calling for Noct's name. The prince had fallen down, bullets rang in the air but there were just too many for Prompto to kill. Gladio and Ignis were no better, they were back to back fighting off a big party of soldiers that had them surrounded. She sprinted once an MT held Noctis under his foot and raised a dagger in the air.


	4. Chapter 4

Noct felt dizzy. He panted with exhaustion after fighting so many MT’s at once. He hadn't been careful with his surrounding and instead allowed himself to be caught by surprise. Before he knew it he had been knocked to the ground and a heavy boot rammed his ribs, he held his sword up to deflect the dagger coming down at him.

  
"NO!" A blur passed over Noct and knocked the MT off his chest.

  
He scrambled to his feet to look in the direction the soldier was supposed to be, a gasp escaped his throat when he realized the one that saved him was actually Clara. She struggled to stay on top of the MT pinning him down with her knees. The tackle had knocked both his weapons away and she quickly placed both hands on top of what would be its heart if it had one. That's when the strangest thing Noct had ever seen happened.

  
She was glowing again, but this time it was different. The light seemed to seep away from her hands to the MT's chest which slowly stopped struggling to get free. Her eyes shone brighter and brighter until the light vanished altogether and the soldier sagged like a doll.

He didn't have time to ask what happened, another MT was coming and he locked his knees in position, waiting for it to be close enough. He dodged an attack that could have easily chopped his head off and thrust his sword in its midsection, hearing the metal of its armor clank with the pressure of his weapon digging in its thorax. After that the fight was over and his friends joined his side to inspect their wounds. He turned towards Clara, who sat completely still and cradled the lifeless body.

"Are you alright?" Prompto hurried and looked her over to see if she had any injuries. She only nodded silently, not taking her eyes off the machine in her arms.

“How did you do that?” Noct asked with a harsher tone than he intended making the girl look at him.

"I... I don't know." She looked down again with a heavy expression that none of them could quite place.

"What did you do?" He tried a different question.

"I just..." Her voice shook a little and she finally set the MT down, inspecting it with sad eyes. "Healed him."

"Healed?" He pressed on. 

"The Starscourge" The answer came almost automatically and the four friends exchanged uneasy glances.

Taken back by the certainty of her voice Noctis didn't say anything else, he could almost feel the gears turning in his head trying to make sense of the situation. Luna had been the only person he knew that could actually heal the scourge though he had never seen it in person. He knew there couldn't be anyone else that held this sort of power.

"But they're not alive" Gladio lightly kicked the arm of the unmoving MT as if to prove a point. "They're just robots. Only live things are affected by the Starscourge."

She looked down at the empty armor in confusion and then at her hands, they weren't glowing anymore and she looked very lost. More and more questions popped up in Noct's mind but he knew she had no answers to them which only seemed to make him want to know even more.

"Woah," His attention went back to her when she staggered after getting up and Gladio supported her by the arm "You all right?"

"Sorry, I'm just a little shaken up." She straightened up and forced a smile, taking a couple steps as if to prove she was fine.

Ignis shared a look with Noct, he knew his advisor probably had theories about what had happened as well but would keep it to himself until he knew for sure. So Noct followed suit and decided to drop the subject but be vigilant of anything else she might do. The car ride had been quiet after that. Clara was napping with her head in Prompto's shoulder, his friend seemed to be flustered at first but seemed to forget as he looked out his window to admire the scenery.

***

The group decided to stop for lunch at five o’clock, Ignis pulled over in a parking lot in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere and all five hopped off the car. The advisor had come prepared, going behind the black car to open blue cooler to pull five plastic baggies with sandwiches that would sustain them until they made it to Lestallum.

“Iggy, you’re our savior!” Prompto boasted happily while munching on the square treat.

“I’m glad someone appreciates my talents.” Ignis straightened up where he stood and let them know they would take this five minute break before going back in the road.  
They had a good two hours before the sun set, the sky was displaying a lovely shade of blue and the clouds drifted in an orange hue. Picture perfect, Prompto thought as he pulled his camera to snap some pictures.

He liked taking pictures of the scenery, thinking it was important to know which places they had been as well as with whom. Another reason he took pictures of the landscapes was that he hoped once they reached Altissia and he finally got to meet Lady Lunafreya he would get the chance to show her all the different places they had been, he reckon she didn’t get many chances to see a change of scenery since she had been in the Empire custody since she was a child.

He owed her that much, especially after what she did for him.

A small giggle caught his attention and he as he turned he noticed their new companion crouching down in a small flower patch and observing two butterflies swirling around each other with an easy smile.

She turned once she heard the click of a picture being taken.

“What was that?” She asked in a low voice, not didn’t want to scare the butterflies away.

“A picture.” Prompto kneeled next to her to show her the screen.

She looked with great curiosity, he offered her the device and showed where she needed to click to see the others.

“Woah… These are beautiful, Prompto.” she sighted under her breath after seeing the shots of the sky he just took. He felt the back of his neck heat up with anxiety.

His camera was something very important to him, it was his way to capture the world as he saw it and he liked sharing that view with others, but seeing someone he still didn’t know very well look at them was always nerve wrecking. Especially if that someone was as pretty as Clara.

Her fingers hovered above the screen where the photo he took of her this morning finally showed up in the queue.

“Oh, should probably have asked if it was alright to take that...” he blurted out, feeling his neck get even warmer, “um- we- I can delete it if you don’t like it? Not that I mean it’s a bad picture, just if you don’t want it there- I mean-“

“It's okay.” She interrupted his rambling in an even voice, looking away from the screen to give him a reassuring smile.

He took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. She didn’t seem upset, that was good. Her attention went back to the screen and she opened and closed her mouth as if she had something to say, but gave up midway with a head shake and a sigh.

“What?” He asked.

“Sorry, it’s nothing.” She shook her head again, handing his camera back. She slowly got up, dusting her hands in the back of her shorts and averted her gaze with a sad and distant look.

“C’mon, what is it?” He tried again, getting up to stand beside her, encouraging her to say what was on her mind.

“It just- it sure would be easy if I had pictures of who I was before.” She sighed, a look of hopelessness in her face.

Prompto stayed silent, trying to come up with something to say in order to make her feel better. It would be much easier if she had a clue, or pictures to show what kind of person she was before. But nothing was ever that simple.

A thought popped in his mind. Maybe she just needed a more reachable solution for now. Accepting what happened and who she was now could be a good start. She could still be happy and make new memories instead of living in this constant search of what had been before. Prompto knew better than anybody holding onto the past was never a good thing.

“Here.” He stretched his hand in a higher angle and approached her, posing with a peace sign.

“This way you can remember what happened today.”

Clara blinked, looking towards the blonde then at the raised camera then back at him. She complied with a smile and turned towards the camera, mimicking the peace sign. After hearing the click he brought the camera to her view, pressing the buttons to open up the menu.

“See? You can make new memories too.”

She took the camera once again, and just stared wordlessly at the two of them smiling at the screen. A look of understanding crossed her mind and she laughed with a huff.  
She raised her eyes towards him and they stared at each other in silence. He wanted to say something else, let her know she would be okay, maybe make a joke to lighten up the serious silence that settled around them.

Silent had never been comfortable for him. He had always felt the need to fill it with words, to have others think about better things whenever they were quiet enough. He never liked the silence because he knew how loud his thoughts could be when not countered by a lighter subject. He didn’t want others to feel the same. So he became loud. He filled the silence with jokes to push the heaviness away.

He didn’t feel that way now. There was nothing to worry with Clara. So far she had always been honest with how she felt and let her heart be right out in the open for everyone to see. He could never be this brave. Even with everything she had been through she still kept a smile in her face, she kept getting up whenever the world pulled the ground right under her feet. 

“We’re leaving, you two.” Ignis called them from the car.

Clara looked at Prompto as he slowly walked away. A warm feeling blossomed in her chest, like a flower that had been wilting had finally been given a bit of water and had the rays of the sun in its petals, finally being able to grow.

She would be okay. She could still have a normal life.

She looked at the picture again. Even if she couldn’t remember what had happened to her before she had to appreciate the moments she had now.

She blinked at the screen and felt her brows furrow when she looked at an almost hidden path behind them in the picture. She averted her eyes from the screen and looked into the forest. A dirt path seemed to be cutting between the trees and leading it deeper to the woods.

There was... something important at the end of that road.

“Clara?” Promto stopped in his tracks once he saw the woman wasn’t following.

She seemed to be looking off the road, towards a path that kept going deeper into the forest. Her eyes were fixated on the dirt path with furrowed brows, concentration clear in her face as she took a couple of steps further the open path in the vegetation.

“I… I think I recognize this place.” she said in a hesitant voice.

“Really?” he replied excitingly. His eyes skimmed the woods further ahead, but there didn’t seem to be any houses or even people around these parts.

“Hey! What’s the hold up?” They heard Gladio call, and Prompto approached the rest of the group.

“She says she remembers something from here.” Prompto said in a lower voice. They exchanged glances before locking the car once again and climbing over the small fence of the parking lot.

“Clara, what is it?” Ignis asked gently, placing a hand in her shoulder.

She turned towards the four young men.

“I don’t know why.” She said with a determined expression, “But this place is important.”

The other four exchanged glances but said nothing.

“If you don’t mind, I would like to check it out. You don’t have to come with me, just give me a couple minutes.” She asked with a tentative tone, not wanting to overstep their hospitality but also refusing to pass an opportunity of finding more about herself.

Ignis looked up towards the orange sky. They didn’t have a lot of time before night came and with it, the daemons. Still, this was something she needed to do and he couldn’t find it in himself to deny her of the possibility of discovering a bit from her past.

“It’s fine, we can look around for a bit.” Noct shrugged looking over his shoulder towards his advisor, seeking his final approval.

Ignis almost chuckled. Even when Noctis was a king he sought others approval, never wanting to make others do what they didn’t want to. Ignis was grateful for that. Noct could be a bit of a brat at times but he was growing into the compassionate and kind young man. He was finally learning what to do whenever he truly needed to be serious.

Clara wringed her hands together, still waiting for his final approval too. He silently nodded. Of course they would take a look around if it meant putting her mind at ease, they still had time and Lestallum was close enough that they could take the risk of encountering a few daemons on the road.

Clara beamed with a grateful smile and headed to the path. The others followed suit staying a few paces behind in order to give her privacy but also near enough in case she needed them.

The birds chirped around them, turning in for the day and leaving the night for the owls and other nocturnal animals. She knew they needed to be fast so she hurried her pace and soon enough reached the end of the trail.

A strange building stood right at the center of the clearing. The place was very familiar, she wrecked her brain trying to bring the memory to light but it just wasn't there. She walked up to it, thinking that maybe what was inside would be the answer but the door didn't budge.

“Is that…” Clara heard Noct say in surprise and turned to see all four of them staring in an astonished daze.

She took a step aside when Noct walked up to her, a look of suspicion plastered in his face. She looked at his hand, he seemed to be holding the key to the place. Her mind ran in circles, trying to figure what it all meant. She backed away and Noctis silently fitted an old key into its keyhole and turned, earning a loud and rusted sound from its old mechanism. He entered the dark chamber wearing a serious expression.

_“Please.”_

A young woman’s voice echoed in the back of her mind.

_“There must be another way.”_

Someone she spoke to, a long time ago.

_“You can stop this from happening.”_

Yes. She remembered that person. A beautiful blond young woman she talked to.

She couldn’t remember what she looked like. The memory was like an echo coming from a well, the words almost clear but the image far too blurry to recall properly. Clara remembered how she felt once she met the girl though. A great melancholy, one she would only place in someone far older than the girl’s years. The poor thing looked like she was carrying the weight of the world in her shoulders.

She had decided what to do after that day. Decided to finally act after being stagnant for so long, that she could make a difference unlike what she had been led to believe.  
That’s right. She had decided to-

“Clara!” she snapped out of her daze once she felt a hand firmly shake her shoulder.

The other three had made their way inside the tomb and all eyes seemed to be on her. Prompto stared with those two big blue eyes of his full of concern and her gaze drifted to the two older men standing behind him.

“What?” she mumbled.

“How did you know this place was here?” Ignis asked. Clara had never seen the look he wore on anyone and her heart skiped with distress.

She blinked and stared at Ignis in astonishment, not really sure of what she had done to be the target of such tone. Clara had never seen him this angry.

"She can't remember, Iggy..." Prompto tried defending the young woman but Ignis was having none of it.

"It's not that simple anymore. She just guided us to a royal tomb, it can't just be a coincidence." He took another step, his much higher figure towering over her. Shadows crossed his face, making his once kind face look much more intimidating.

"So I'll ask once more. How did you know about this place?" 

Clara shrank under his gaze, looking like an anak caught in the headlights. 

Deep down Ignis knew he was being too threatening to the poor girl, but he had a responsibility, to take care of Noctis, and he would be damned if the safety of his King and best friend would be jeopardized because he was too soft to let anything or anyone that could cause him harm get too close.

Ignis had been on the fence since last night's episode and his trust had only been decreasing throughout the day, especially after seeing the so called helpless woman killing a MagiTeck soldier by herself without any fighting experience. 

"I... I don't..." She mumbled in a quivering whisper, wriggling her hands together in an attempt to make them stop trembling.

"For all we know you could be a spy sent by the Empire." Ignis continued, to which she could only answer with a confused look.

"I'm not a spy!" she answered desperately.

This was escalating too fast, a few minutes ago she was enjoying a nice conversation with Prompto and now this? Her heart rate increased, the idea of running away and hiding until she could calm down was starting to sound very tempting.

"Guys, come on, this isn't going anywhere." Prompto tried to calm them both, stepping between them and raising his hands once Ignis angry stare zeroed in on him.

“I mean, do you really think the Empire would be so stupid to send someone who looks like they just came down the mountain?” He continued.

Clara wasn’t sure of any of that meant or what this Empire had to do with her, but she certainly wasn’t evil or had any ill intentions towards the four of them.

"Ignis has a point." Gladio finally jumped in the conversation, now eyeing the blonde with suspicion.

“L-Look, I don’t know what you mean by a spy send by- whoever it is you are talking about.” Clara suddenly interrupted, growing tired of being spoken of as if she wasn’t there.

“But I don’t want to hurt anyone! I have no idea why this mausoleum thing is here, and I certainly can’t remember just because you’re asking me to!”

The four men stood shocked not really sure of what to say. It had been the first time someone had been the target of Ignis ‘mom’s glare’ to come out unfazed and have a presence to even him out.

“We just can’t take that chance.” Ignis finally said after a second.

Clara inhaled, clearly all the trust she had managed to build with the group had been broken and it wasn’t even her fault. She felt a pang in her chest and looked away to blink away the moisture that started to build in her eyes.

“That’s not fair.” She murmured, feeling like a child.

Of course it was her fault. She had just led them to a place that they were clearly connected to. She had no way to prove she really had amnesia, they had been kind enough to help her without any proof of whether she was a good person or not. Now she messed it up.

They wouldn’t help her anymore.

The thoughts of being alone in the wild again filled her mind, she didn’t want to be left behind.

“Maybe we should just go back to the car.” Prompto’s suggestion was like a punch in the gut.

It was too much, she’d rather leave by herself then be cast away.

Clara turned around and bolted to the canopy, not taking even a second to stop and listen to the voices behind her calling her back, not caring about the scratches the thorny bushes left in her bare arms and not registering the sun as it dipped low in the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I had this chapter finished but never posted... Guess the quarantine brought me back into writing lol


	5. Chapter 5

“Clara! Please come back!” Prompto yelled as he ran after the young woman.

He screwed up. He wanted to kick himself when he thought about his words and how she must have taken it the wrong way. He had just meant it would be best if the five of them went back to the car so they could sort this out and at least drop Clara off in Lestallum, he didn’t mean to make her run away.

Now she was all alone and the sun was about to set.

“Clara!” Gladio’s booming voice joined him after they lost sight of her, followed by Ignis and Noct.

Prompto really didn’t want to blame Ignis, he knew the advisor only had the best intentions for the group's safety in mind and he could see the look of worry and regret in his face. Still, he wished Ignis had been more considerate.

“Where the heck did she go?” Noctis turned in a perfect circle, running his eyes all around.

She wouldn’t show up. If there was one thing Prompto was a specialist in was negative emotions, and people that get too overwhelmed and are not good with dealing with them. He remembered how small she tried to make herself when she got stressed, how she seemed to be looking everywhere for a way out of the situation, she seemed to be the type of person who tend to isolate themselves in order to calm down.

He doubted she would come back to them though, Ignis’s words had upset her so much that she'd rather run headfirst into unknown territory then work things out. 

“Shit. There goes the sun.” Gladio’s words did nothing to help Prompto’s worried state as the four looked at the sky over the trees.

It took less than an hour for the light of day to completely vanish and they were left with only the beam of the flashlights attached to their clothes.

It wouldn’t take long for the daemons to show up now.

“This is bad…” Prompto ran a hand over his hair worryingly. They couldn’t stay out in the open for too long.

“Maybe there’s a haven nearby she would go to?” Noct though out loud, “What did she do at night while she was lost in the woods?”

She never said. None of them took the time to ask.

"There is a haven to the East of here," Gladio broke the silence while swiping a finger through his phone, looking at a map in the screen. "we passed it before stopping here. Maybe she went there."

It was their best option, Prompto thought, if they couldn't find her at night then they could rest and wait until morning to resume the search. If she _lived_ through the night, a small voice in the back of his mind whispered and he tried his best to shut it up. Gladio took the lead and started to walk in a different direction while taking a few glances in a small compass he kept in the front pocket of his shirt, a gift from his dad he once said.

“Heads up!” Gladio's voice adopted a warning tone and he pulled his great sword from the Armiger.

Five bodies made of bluish gelatin started to bubble up from the ground. A big mouth formed in the middle of the form, followed by glowing yellow eyes and the Flan let out a gurgling sound and started to crawl in their direction.

“Spread out!” Ignis ordered to with they instantly compiled.

The five Flans clumsily jumped towards the group but couldn’t do any damage. Prompto felt the familiar weight of his gun materialize in his hand, with a swift motion he turned towards the daemons and pulled the trigger, only to see the bullet pass straight through the creature.

Gladio’s sword cut through one of the daemons only for it to be stunned for a second and reform. Melee attacks wouldn’t work.

He pulled a special bullet from the magical arsenal and quickly loaded it, aiming high he pulled the trigger again and a ball of light illuminated the forest. The monsters cried and shied away from the Starshell, bumping into each other in a fruitless attempt to flee the strong rays of light.

“Ignis!” Noct cued the advisor and the next second a wave of cold air hit Prompto’s face, making him turn away.

Once he looked up again he saw a huge mass of ice where the creatures once stood. Gladio let out a roar as he swung his sword again, this time hitting the target and shattering two of the monsters, followed by Noct descending with his engine blade in the third and lastly by Ignis’s lance shattering the fourth.

Prompto focused on his guns cylinders, deciding only a couple of bullets wouldn’t be enough to kill the last creature, he remembered his training with Cor and how the man taught him to shoot more than 20 bullets in less than a minute. He pulled the trigger and the bullets were instantly replaced with magic, he kept going until the creature completely vanished on the ground.

“Nice.” Gladio complimented their team work and gave Noct a high five.

But Prompto couldn’t find it in himself to join the brief celebration, his heart still raced against his ribs with adrenaline and his anxiety took a hold of his mind. What if Clara also encountered a daemon? What if they couldn’t find her and she died? What if, what if, what if.

He looked around more desperately. At least they haven’t heard a scream so far but he couldn’t decide if that was a good or a bad thing.

“We must make haste.” It was Ignis who broke him from his thoughts.

The other three followed after the older men in the search. Again they encountered some nasty creatures, including a couple Galvanade and thunder bombs drifting in the night.

They had decided to ditch the car, even if it was more dangerous they were more likely to find Clara wondering the woods then the highway. The constant fighting was starting to take its toll, the group now had a collection of scrapes and bruises adding to the fatigue of the day. According to Gladio they were close to the haven at least.

“Oh, come on!” Noct whined and summoned his blade once more.

The ground shook slightly as a giant hand bubbled out of the black mass in the earth, followed by an arm then a torso. A giant finally pulled itself out of ground and stood tall. The daemon let out a deafening roar and took a step towards the group. They all summoned their weapons and prepared themselves, this would take a while.

Noct’s sword struck the giant straight in the chest and his form materialized a second later, he kicked the sword out and summoned a great sword much like the one Gladio wielded and sliced the daemon across the chess.

Stunned, the daemon couldn’t do much while Gladio and Ignis sliced its legs and Prompto pulled a head shot after head shot. Giants were dangerous, but thank the Gods they were slow.

Prompto was sure the thing was at death's door and they would be back in their way in a minute when another dark mass appeared and another gigantic hand popped out.

“Shit!” Prompto directed his bullets to the hands in a stupid hope of scaring it away back into whatever hole it came from, but it didn't stop and soon another Red Giant had pulled itself off the earth.

“Huston, we have a problem!” He called to the other three who didn’t seem to notice the new enemy.

A few seconds was all it took. When their glances moved towards the other Giant the one they were facing took its opportunity to attack, waving a hand and swatting Noctis away. The raven haired prince flew but managed to warp in the last second and was now hanging on a tree. The Giant pulled its sword back to slice vertically, intending to hit both Gladio and Ignis at once.

Gladio's sword disappeared in shimmering crystals and he summoned his shield, putting all his weight against it but it wasn’t enough to stop such a powerful attack and they were both sent flying. Gladio took the worst of the impact and fell unconscious in the bushes while Ignis had managed to land on his feet.

“Gladio!” Noct warped to the ground and ran towards the Shield with a potion in hand.

Before Prompto could see if their friend was alright he felt a weird pull towards both the Giants and noticed a ball of dark purple light taking form. The Giants now stood side by side and one of them was using some type of gravity magic while the other got ready to attack whoever got sucked in.

“Prompto!” He noticed Ignis's extended hand and quickly grabbed it.

Ignis had carved his polearm on the ground in hopes it would help keep them from getting pulled. Noct held onto Gladio's shoulders while he blinked to drive the dizziness away and started to get up slowly. 

“What do we do?” Prompto asked, his voice raising against the roars of the daemons.

The red giant they attacked earlier noticed they were not moving and slowly started to approach, resting its sword against its shoulder. Prompto's heart hammered against his chest in desperation, it would be a clean hit. They could either stay where they were or let go and be pulled to the other daemon, both were very bad ideas.

“Look out!” A feminine voice filled the air and before they knew it someone was standing defensively in front of them.

Time seemed to slow down as the blond took it all in. He saw the clear expression of terror in Clara's pale face as she raised her open palms over her head, his blood ran cold when the mental image of Clara being crushed crossed his mind in that quick second. But before the sword met its target light erupted from her hands, forming a bright wall and extending in front of her, causing a pulse of energy that burst once the sword made contact with the clear shield and pushed them all away.

Prompto and Ignis hit the ground hard and rolled in the dirt. Prompto felt his skull rattle when his head made direct contact with a rock and for a moment the whole world seemed to be upside down. He blinked in an attempt to clear the dark spots that clouded his vision.

He raised his head to see the gigantic daemon dissolve and disappear in a gentle yellow light with a low growl. His ears were ringing and his head throbbed with each heartbeat, he could feel the cold trickle of blood in the back of his head but all of his focus landed on Clara who was unconscious on the ground while the second Giant aproached in heavy steps.

“C-Clara!” He pushed himself with his elbows in an attempt to get up but his vision clouded and his head swirled making him stumble and fall to his knees. 

“Move!” He called desperately but she didn’t show any sign of hearing.

The Giant raised its foot, ready to stomp the unconscious woman.

"Oh no, you don't!" Gladio roared and slashed the Giant's leg, making it tumble and fall in a loud "thump".

Coming from the front Noct threw his sword in the air over its body, warping and having gravity pull him and his greatsword, carving it deep in the monster’s chest. With one last deep growl the daemon’s form turned into a black goo and was absorbed by the earth. It was over.

Prompto let out a relieved sigh, letting his body sag and closing his eyes against the throbbing headache starting to form. He registered Ignis’s voice next to him but couldn’t make sense of his words, he stared at him, hoping to be able to read his lips but his thoughts were all over the place. He felt a cool like substance being poured in the back of his head, and when he looked again a bottle was dissolving in Ignis’s hand.

“Thanks, Iggy.” He closed his eyes to wait for the potion to run its course.

“No problem.” He heard steps approaching, Gladio held Clara in his arms.

“Is she-“ Prompto got to his feet, approaching worryingly.

“Just passed out. Doesn’t seem to be hurt.” Gladio answered before he could finish the sentence. 

Prompto let out a relieved breath, looking at Clara’s face in search of any sign of pain but she was as still as a corpse. The comparison did not sit well in his stomach. 

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Noct 


	6. Chapter 6

Clara didn't wake up after they set camp, nor after a couple of hours had passed. The unconscious white haired woman didn't seem to be injured or in pain, but the lack of response was still worrisome. Ignis let his mind wander on the events of the day while staring at the fire. He still wasn't sure he could trust her. Sure, he was thankful for the fact she showed up when she did to save him and Prompto, but it could all just be one big ruse to get them to lower their guard.

He let out a frustrated huff, deciding no good would come from overthinking and tried to focus on the stew hanging over the fire instead.

He looked around. Prompto seemed to be lost in thought while staring into his phone as if the game he loved so much couldn’t even distract him. The blonde’s eyes would wander to the tent once in a while, assuming a worried expression but soon tried to focus on a conversation with Noct, who seemed to be trying to hide the fact his eyes also wandered towards the tent.

It seemed the two had formed a bond with the younger woman, Prompto has always been a social butterfly and Ignis knew that deep down Noct was a friendly and trusting person so he couldn't say he was surprised. Ignis couldn’t blame them for befriending her, if she was truly a spy then she was also a very good actress.

"Food's ready." He finally called out, serving the bowls that were set next to him and distributing around the group.

"Noct, I see what you are doing." Ignis stated, his peripheral vision catching flickers of Noctis's spoon throwing the small pieces of carrots over his shoulder.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Noct tried to cover it up by taking a spoonful.

Ignis only hummed, feeling too tired to get into yet another argument over the immature habit. They ate in silence, eyes almost never leaving the food in front of them, their mind faraway with the recent events and how it all seemed to be happening so fast. The fall of Insomnia, the loss of their respective loved ones, the Empire hunting them down, the duty they now had to fulfill alone.

It all seemed too heavy to even think about, it was as if the weight of it would sink in their chest and crush their lungs if acknowledged. Noct hadn’t said a word of his father since they talked to Cor.

It worried Ignis, the way he was so silent recently, how fast he had to grow in such a small amount of time. He only wished he had been smarter, that he had thought that maybe the bachelor’s trip had only been a ruse to bring a false sense of safety. He should have at least suspected it.

He felt so useless. It pained him that the closest thing he could do to bring a bit of comfort was to cook a simple stew and not even have the words to express how much more he wished he could do.

He focused on the closed tent. The only way to be one hundred percent sure they would be safe would be to part ways with Clara as soon as possible. He felt horrible for feeling this way, for possibly abandoning an innocent person with no memories whatsoever.

But Noct’s safety came first.

Always.

***

  
“Hello?” Clara’s voice echoed in the darkness.

“Is anybody there?”She looked around but there was no one to be seen for miles. She brought her hands up, just to make sure she herself existed in this dark place. She wasn’t sure if it was relief she felt once she saw her hands in front of her.

Because if she existed here, she existed alone.

She called again but no answer came, the tears started to flood her eyes as she just sat and heard the echo of her voice.

Then she heard a tiny whisper and looked up quickly. A tiny light pulsed like a small beating heart a few steps away, beckoning her to come closer, bringing hope to the desolate world around her.

“Hello?” She whispered, almost too afraid to hope and took a step closer.

The voice said something again but it seemed to come from a far away tunnel, Clara couldn’t understand the words. She broke to a sprint, but no matter how fast she ran she couldn’t reach the little light. The light still hovered, whispers of yearning and sadness echoed in the darkness.

“Who are you?” Clara yelled, extending her arm in an attempt to reach whoever it was.

She noticed the light start to take form. First came the silhouette of a woman, her long hair waved behind her even if there was no wind, then Clara focused on her face. She was smiling, that much she could tell, the light blinded every other aspect of whoever it was she tried to reach.

She tried running faster once the mysterious woman extended her hand as well, calling to her. Clara could hardly breathe as the darkness closed in on her, she wasn’t moving, she needed to get closer.

The smile faded from the woman's face and her hand dropped slowly.

“Wait.” Clara called desperately as the woman turned away.

“Don’t leave me!” She stopped running, giving up on the idea of reaching her in time.

“Don’t go.” She whispered at the same time her eyes opened and she stared at the top of what looked like a roof but made of cloth.

Feeling too groggy to get up yet she opted to slowly sit up and study her surroundings, surprised to feel something soft under her and see a weak light that she reckoned came from a fire nearby. Then she heard Ignis voice, saying something then only a low hum. Were they nearby? Did they bring her to that place?

She dried a few stray tears that had leaked while she slept, the dream was still fresh in her mind. It wasn’t the first time she dreamt of a mysterious woman in the dark. Whenever she slept in one of the weird rock formations she found, the ones that attracted no creatures in the night, she saw a woman she didn't recognize.

Even if she couldn’t remember her face she was sure the woman in this dream was different then the one she saw while she was in the forest she first woke up in. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to picture their faces, trying to remember anything.

She let out a frustrated huff when nothing came. Letting herself drop to the pillow again she listened to the noises outside. The others were quiet, she wondered what they would do now that she was back. Probably send her away again.

Resolve had come quick to her mind while she was running from the four of them a couple of hours ago, it was obvious Ignis and Gladio didn’t trust her at all now and she doubted Noctis or Prompto would choose her over the other two, she was just a stranger after all. Her heart sank in sorrow, she was just back to where she started, with no clue of what to do.  
  
A wave of emotions washed over her. Frustration welled up and soon she felt the tears slide to the side of her head and get lost in her hair, she never felt so tired. She wished she could shut her mind up as the questions began to pile up.

Why me?

Why did this happen?

Why do I have no memories?

Why give me this weird power if I can’t even control it to my benefit?

Clara raised her open palms to her eye level, trying to will them to glow, to sparkle, anything. She stared with so much intensity she worried they might catch fire and dropped them again, laughing slightly at the absurdity of the idea.

One thing was certain, she needed to leave. Being stagnant didn’t bring her any answers, and feeling sorry for herself wasn’t going to help either. They had at least taken her halfway to the city, she could just walk next to the road until she arrived, then she could search for answers alone.

Maybe Lestallum had a refugee center.

Yeah, she could still make it work.

It wasn't so bad.

She repeated the thoughts in her mind, willing the words to be true, and listened to the background noises of the wood popping in the fire. She could hear the scrapping of dishes and a low comment from Ignis but other than that the four were silent.

Clara couldn’t tell how long she waited in silence, but she decided it was best to count to two hundred after she heard the first snore.

***

Ignis sat crossed armed in the camp chair and stared to the horizon. Thinking about every possible outcome the day was about to bring.

He had waited until the other three had finally fallen asleep before slipping out of his sleeping bag and pulled the chair to stare at the door of the tent.

The morning light was slowly starting to show. He had lost the battle against sleep a couple of times during the night but refused to get up from his spot.

  
Everything was still quiet, save for the loud snores coming from Gladio and the noises of the nocturnal animals. He closed his eyes, keeping his breath even and a calm mind. He needed to be the rational one, no matter what happened he needed to deal with it in an orderly fashion.

That was who he was.

His eyelids fluttered open when the hushed noise of the tent flap being open broke him away from his thoughts. Clara was standing hunched over the entrance, her shoes at hand and eyes wide with surprise when their eyes met.

“Clara.” Ignis whispered in acknowledgement, his shoulder had gone rigid with the threat of an attack from her but the woman remained still.

Her expression hardened and she straightened up slowly, eyes darting to the edge of the haven and then back to him, as if measuring the distance. She looked like the scared woman they found a day before lost in the woods. He expected it so, he had made it clear they weren’t on friendly terms anymore.

Maybe that was for the best.

She took a hesitant step away when he got up.

"I won't hurt you." Ignis said, "I merely wish to speak."

He gestured towards the edge of the haven, away from the other three, sitting with his legs dangling on the edge and with his hands clasped together resting in his lap. She followed but kept her distance, observing him with the corner of her eye.

"I apologize for this evening." She turned, surprised by the sincerity in his tone.

"We might not know who you are, but it still does not excuse my behavior. You had every right to leave and not come back, but you still did. For that you have my gratitude" He paused, letting the words sink in.

She finally seemed to decide there was no danger in sitting down. He didn’t have any reason to attack her after all.

She played the whole ordeal in her mind again.

It hadn't been on purpose.

She remembered acting on instinct when she saw Ignis and Prompto in danger, she couldn't bear the though of them being hurt and before she knew it her body was moving.

She looked at her hands. They felt very heavy back then, it had been as if her whole arm was slowly becoming stone and the only way to relieve the sensation was to let it flow to her palms then eventually let it take form as a sort of shield that protected the three of them. 

“I couldn’t just do nothing.” She rested her hands on top of her knees, deciding to conceal what she felt from Ignis, “I guess we’re even now.” She said and glanced towards him, their eyes locked for a second before she turned away once again.

For a moment Ignis resolution faltered.

He never felt so conflicted. His actions had always felt right, he didn’t often doubt his decisions or his intuition, but then again, he never had been forced to decide anything that might put Noctis life in danger. He always thought his choices had been easy. He could handle politics and war tactics with strategy and patience, he could always rely on his memory and overall ability to cook and had always been confident in his fighting abilities.

But nothing about Clara seemed to be easy. Ever since they found her in the middle of nowhere she had been a tough puzzle to crack. How long had she been alone for? How did she manage to survive in the woods for days with no experience in hunting or fighting except for her weird magic, which she seemed to have no control of? Each question led to another and none of them could be answered.

He didn’t like living in uncertainty. Now, more than ever, he needed to know about everything that happened around him and his King. He just couldn’t risk it.

It was still dark but he noticed the slight movement of her head turn towards the three sleeping figures on the ground.

“I’m sorry it came to this, Clara.” Her attention turned to him again and she let her eyes wander to the tree line.

Her chest was tightening with the imminent goodbye, she couldn’t find the words to say. Feeling too hurt and betrayed to forgive, but understanding Ignis’s wariness, after all, they didn’t owe her anything.

”Me too.”

But she was still determined not to let that stop her, she needed answers and she would find them.

“Say goodbye to the others for me.” Her voice wavered when she thought of Prompto. He had been so kind, giving her comfort when she had no hope. She remembered the time on the road, with the butterflies and his camera and wished she could bring the picture they took with her, so she could always remember his face. The first friend she made and now she had to leave him behind.

”I hope you find what you’re looking for.” Ignis extended a hand towards her, lying in it she saw the old dagger she had found in the woods.

”Thanks, Ignis.” She said, accepting her weapon.

Getting up she turned to Ignis one last time to nod before jumping off the edge, silent like a cat, and taking off towards the woods.


End file.
